Having scanned through the lesson quarterly, there are so many hymns from which to choose a theme. In effect, there is a commencing theme hymn which changes through the quarter to the finale theme hymn. To start with, we could use:
Hymn 552 – The Lord’s My Shepherd or 
Hymn 545 – Savior, Like a Shepherd.

Somewhere in the middle of the quarter one could change the theme and add in
Hymn 159 – The Old Rugged Cross which is where we complete our studies in Lesson 13.

 Our submission for service is found in
Hymn 462 – Blessed Assurance verse 2 and verse 3, and further instructions in
Hymn 309 – All to Jesus I Surrender. Following these two hymns we learn more in
Hymn 363 – Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service. Sunday concludes with us learning to be obedient to death, as was Jesus:
Hymn 328 – Must Jesus Bear The Cross Alone.

Monday gives us courage in Romans 12:1 with God’s abundant mercy:
Hymn 521 – Depth of Mercy. And with that mercy we find our minds renewed, having asked
God Be Merciful to Me – Hymn 297 verse 3. All of this is gifted to us, because “He had to die”:
Hymn 159 – The Old Rugged Cross. We then are able to ‘die with Jesus’
Moment By Moment – Hymn 507 due to our surrender:
Hymn 309 – I Surrender All.

We learn from Samuel’s experience (Tuesday) and say
Lord, Speak to Me – Hymn 541 because we ask
Come, Holy Spirit – Hymn 269 and
Hover O’er Me Holy Spirit – Hymn 260. Samuel heard the voice of God and with sincere prayers we want to know
Jesus Calls Us – Hymn 285 and may we listen and accept:
Hymn 359 – Hark! The Voice of Jesus Calling

It is with great sadness that we find Saul did not
Trust and Obey – Hymn 590 (Wednesday).

 In the closing of Thursday’s study we find that “God may use it as a crucible to teach us to depend on Him”; so we prayerfully ask Savior, Teach Me – Hymn 193.

Friday closes our weeks’ studies reminding us of the
Blessed Assurance – Hymn 462 that we have in Jesus.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/12-dying-like-a-seed-singing-with-inspiration/

When Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, it wasn’t simply because she doubted God’s word. At the heart of the problem was her belief that she had enough wisdom to decide for herself what was good and right. She trusted her own judgment. When we rely on our own judgment as opposed to trusting God’s Word, we open ourselves up to all sorts of problems.

The story of Saul describes the steps to self-reliance and the tragedy that so quickly follows. Samuel anointed Saul as God’s king (1 Samuel 10:1). Then he gave Saul specific instructions (1 Samuel 10:8), but Saul disobeyed.

Read the next part of the story in 1 Samuel 13:1-14. What did Saul do that led to his own downfall?

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There are three steps that led Saul down the road to self-reliance so soon after having been made king. The problem is that none of the steps were that bad in themselves. Yet, they contained the seeds of tragedy because they were each taken independently of God. Notice the order in which Saul’s fall occurred.

1. Saul said, “I saw” (NIV) — the scattering of his troops and Samuel’s absence (1 Samuel 13:11). Saul was under pressure, and he evaluated with his own eyes what was happening.
2. Saul moved from “I saw” to “I said” — that the Philistines would conquer them (1 Samuel 13:12, NKJV). What he saw with his own eyes shaped what he said, or surmised, about the situation.
3. Saul moved from “I said” to “I felt” — compelled to offer sacrifice (1 Samuel 13:12, NKJV). What Saul thought now shaped his feelings.

All of us have done this: we rely on our own human eyesight, which leads us to rely on our own human thinking, which leads us to rely on our own human feelings. And then we act on these feelings.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 NKJV

We live in a hurting world, and we all have been made aware that hurting people hurt people. It is easy to want to lash out at others when we have been hurt, but here are some things we need to keep in mind.

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We are not the intended target – God is. In Acts 7:54-60 when Stephen was being stoned for his faith, he could see Jesus standing up for him in heaven. Stephen asked God not to charge this sin against them. Stephen did not take this stoning personally, as he realized it was not so much happening to him as much as it was happening in front of him. He realized Jesus was the intended target. Stephen knew it was “not I but Christ” who lived in him. He knew it was the Christ in him who was being persecuted. Stephen was not afraid to die, because as far as Stephen was concerned he had already been crucified with Christ. Dead people aren’t afraid to die.

When we have been crucified with Christ we consider ourselves dead to self, and realize it is Christ who lives in us who is being persecuted. After all, didn’t Jesus tell Saul who became Paul, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting?” Acts 9:5 NKJV. It was Jesus, not Stephen who was the intended target. Therefore Stephen could have considered that it was not him but Christ who was being persecuted. We are the body of Christ. Christ is the head of the body, and whenever the smallest part of the body is hurt, the head of the body is first to feel the pain.  

By dying to self, I can say “It is not I but Christ who is being offended.” As Isaiah 63:9 KJV says, “In all their affliction He was afflicted.” In Luke 9:23 NKJV Jesus tells us to take up our cross and die daily. In 1 Corinthians 15:31NKJV Paul says, “I die daily.”

Years ago I held a “Cross of Christ” revival series in a small town in Southeast Oklahoma. I mentioned that if I die daily I cannot hold grudges any more. After all, if I die daily and am born again every morning, I cannot hold a grudge over something that happened yesterday. How can you hold a grudge over something that happened before you were even born? You could not have hurt me yesterday if I was just born today.

Dying to self and being born again on a daily basis not only frees me from my own sins from the day before, but it also frees me from the insults and slights that came flying my way from the day before. I am a new creature. You could not have hurt me yesterday if I was just born again today. After sharing that idea, I came back to the same church a couple of years later. The pastor told me there was a cranky old lady in the church who was always holding grudges, but she changed after the seminar. He told me she had shared with him that it was this very illustration that turned her life around. She became a new creation indeed! 

When people are being mean and nasty we are not to take it personally. It’s their issue between them and God. It’s not happening to you. It’s happening in front of you. If we are crucified with Christ, it is not us but Christ who lives in us. Therefore it is not us but Christ who is being persecuted. Like Stephen, by faith we can look into heaven and see Jesus standing up for us. We can pray for their sin to not be charged against them. And like with Stephen and Saul who became Paul, Jesus will ask those aiming darts at us, “why are you persecuting me?” 

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